Bladder obstruction, arising from enlargement of the prostate gland in males, is one of the most common disorders in urology. The prostate gland lies under the bladder and surrounds the passageway, known as the prostatic urethra, which transfers fluids from the bladder to the sphincter and ultimately outside the body through the rest of the urethra. An enlarged prostate constricts the prostatic urethra leading to a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (“BPH”). BPH causes a variety of obstructive symptoms including urinary hesitancy, decreased size and force of the urinary stream, and in extreme cases, complete urinary retention, which can lead to renal failure.
To overcome these problems, the enlarged prostate may be surgically removed after severing the gland from the body. One BPH treatment, referred to as enucleation of the prostate, employs an introducer, for example, a minimally invasive device, for example, such as a cystoscope, that includes channels to insert devices, for example, an incising device, a morcellating device and extraction device. The incising device, which may include, e.g., a Holmium laser, may carve out the prostate lobes. The severed prostate tissues are generally large, and therefore, a morcellating device may be used to fragment the tissue to facilitate easier removal of the excised tissue.
Typically, morcellation of tissue is accomplished with a mechanical morcellator. Such mechanical morcellators are well-known in the art and may include multiple moving parts and relatively larger diameters. Moreover, the enucleation and morcellation procedures may be accomplished with the help of a number of other devices, such as, for example, a visual device, an irrigation device, a resecting device. Each of these devices is typically inserted into the body lumen through the introducer. Accordingly, the dimensions of the inserted devices may be constrained by the size of the cystoscope channels.
Thus, there is a need for reducing the sizes of the various tools used in such procedures so that larger tissue fragments may be removed, thereby reducing procedure time.